We salute and encourage men who want to break free from the chore of shaving and grow their own beard. There is nothing more manly than a well kept beard (just ask your nearest female). The key to growing a great beard is time and commitment. There will be a period of patchiness and itchiness, but eventually a brimming beard will prevail. This step by step guide will show you how to grow a beard and maintain it.
1. Pre-beard:
The first step of how to grow a beard: Understand it will take about six weeks for any type of beard to really form. You’ll want to decide what type of beard style is best for you. Genetics will determine mostly what type of style you can grow. Some men will not be able to grow a thick beard and that’s fine. Men of varying beard growth look just fine. If you cannot grow a full beard, we recommend growing a goatee, chin curtain or another variation those suites your beard growth pattern. Regardless of your choice in beard, the steps to growing a great beard are all the same.
2. Initial Phase:
As you initially grow your beard, make sure not to prematurely shape it. A beard will initially look scruffy or scraggly and many men attempt to “clean it up”. This is a mistake as it often ends up in awkward shaped beards. If you must take off something, go in with the idea of taking off as little as possible. Make sure to keep taking care of your face with a solid facial care routine, so as to prevent itchiness, in grown hairs, and irritation as the beard grows in.
3. Growth Phase:
The growth phase of a beard is often accompanied by a lot of itchiness. The reason is your face being accustomed to shaving for so long and not having facial hair covering it. This new environment will potentially cause a mini havoc to your facial skin as beards collect dust that can irritate the skin. Understand that this phase will pass. Some high quality men's face moisturizer will sooth your angry face during this period. If you've got a decent amount of hair on your face at this beard growth phase, you can use beard oil on it to reduce itchiness as well. Whatever you do, don’t cave in and shave.
4. Beard Care:
Once your beard has grown into a real beard, it’s time for beard maintenance. We suggest maintaining your own beard unless you can find a barber who you can trust. Men often find maintaining a beard is much easier than daily shaving.
5. Beard Maintenance:
Wash your beard: Lots of guys don’t wash their beards, or if they do, use a bar of soap. Bad idea as you’ll dry out your beard and skin underneath it. Shampoo your beard, just like your hair, at least a few times a week and follow up the shampoo with a beard oil after your beard is dry. Please note, there is no need to buy "beard wash", it's simply overpriced shampoo.
Trimming your beard: We recommend trimming your beard every two months as it helps keep your beard healthy. For the bulk of your trimming, you should use scissors and a comb. An electric trimmer is fine for the edges of your beard. If you shave around the edges of your beard, make sure to use a premium, all natural shave cream so as not to irritate the skin around the beard and cause irritation.
6. Beard Products:
Beard oil: The best beard oil softens your beard, in addition to giving it a nice shine and great scent. We recommend using a natural & organic beard oil as whatever is put on your beard will most likely affect the skin underneath. Beard oil will also prevent any skin itchiness and flakes.
Mustache wax: A great tool to help you shape your mustache as you desire, and many waxes are scented quite deliciously.
Beard comb and brush: Combing your beard will help keep it looking fresh and well kept. We suggest a boar’s hair or other natural brush versus synthetic brushes. The surface of each bristle of a boar's hair brush is scaly, draws dust and excess product from the hair as you use it. The bristles also stimulates the natural oils (sebum) present in the scalp, and draws them along the hair shafts; this is essential for keeping hair clean, healthy, shiny, and protected.
Facial Care: Continue to take care of the skin around and under your beard, as it is responsible for keeping your beard looking healthy and clean. A basic routine using a face wash for men and a face moisturizer for men will do the trick.
